156.
   All the color seemed to bleed out of everything around us, all the color but red. The color drained out of all four of their faces in fear.

   “Oh my God!”, whispered Claudia. “It’s happening!”
   “Oliver!”, shouted Conrad. “You must go!”
    I was so paralyzed with confusion, I could not get up. “What’s happening?”
   “Your world is upon us!”, gasped Nanette.
   Pat took her hand and looked to the sky. He raised his other hand instinctively, but it stopped halfway up. His shoulders sagged. “It’s alright, my love.”, he said quietly. 
   A loud buzzing sound rang in our ears, angry like the screech of a wasp’s nest. It wavered in intensity and volume like a radio searching for signal. Human voices groaned in the darkness like the drunken moans around a piano bar after midnight.
   Conrad grabbed Claudia’s arm. She seemed panic stricken. “There is still time!” 
   “What the hell is happening?”, I demanded. I was terrified.
   “All of you!”, bellowed Conrad. “Let’s get out now! We still have a chance! Oliver! You must go back!”
   “Go back to where?” I could not move. The red was everywhere now. All five of us looked up into it as if waiting for our end to come pouring over us.
   Conrad shook himself and clasped my shoulder. “This is good-bye, Oliver! Go back and make a difference!” He took Claudia by the hand.
    Nanette broke free of her terror. “Come on, Pat! Let’s get the hell out of here!” 
   The four of them charged off the deck of the felucca and into the darkness. 
   “What the hell is happening?”, I pleaded as I watched them disappear.